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Posted 5/28/2021 8:06 AM (GMT -5)
one of the concerns with low Carb Diets is the common finding that - Cholesterol and often Low Density Lipids increase considerably during this dietary approach.

according to conventional medical wisdom and the diet-heart hypothesis - this is always a bad thing, is a sign of cardiovascular disease and low carb diets are therefore undesirable and should be avoided - Or so the conventional reasoning goes

however, there are big holes in the conventional diet-heart-health hypothesis - and as a society we do need tools to help manage our weight and metabolic health - especially in western societies where overweight has reached 70% of the adult population, obesity over 30% and metabolic disorders are also on the increase.

this link discusses a new theory that seek to answer why cholesterol changes with higher fat/lower cab diets and that this is likely a normal healthy adaptation that human biology accomplishes - and not necessarily a sign of disease

https://chriskresser.com/reevaluating-cholesterol-and-its-effect-on-our-health-with-marit-zinocker/?utm_term=what-if-high-cholesterol-isnt-always-bad&utm_campaign=ck-general-5-28-21&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=129993483&_hsenc=p2anqtz-9scgu7x2al00ha3crwikl3qv0vil3ponbwvmgzbx3i4l0kf4isrhku0ssusuezjnjlbsljkdp1eyrpg0my8tz0r85ozg&utm_content=&utm_source=hubspot

thought it might be useful here as many find a low carb approach works well for them with lyme - but may well have concerns over some cholesterol markers rising
Posted 5/28/2021 8:13 AM (GMT -5)
My cholesterol went up. The research seems to indicate that this in and of itself is not a bad thing, and focusing on solely cholesterol may be a mistake. Seems like people who eat high fat western diets are doing it in the setting of high sugar and high trans/hydrogenated fats, so their cholestorol goes up w/ their metabolic disease, so correlation not causation. Some reasearch indicating saturated fats arent the problem, its sugar, transfats and especially hydrogenated oils. If your cholesterol goes up because youre eating eggs fish and grass fed beef, is that a bad thing? I think you need to watch the triglycerides and/or glucose, if those go up w/ high cholesterol you've got problems.

So yes, my cholesterol went up, but my A1C went from a 5.5 down to a 4.8 and my digestion improved.

Its also my understanding that the cholestorol goin up is just an adjustment process, and it eventually goes back down. Did that happen for you garzie?

I was only on strict keto for 6m. My cholesterol went up, but as mentioned my blood sugar levels went down. When I came off keto during a bit of depression I ate pretty unhealthy for about a month. Fries, bread, choclate. I didnt change my meat intake, however. My cholesterol was lower, upper end of normal. Makes no sense that adding in these foods could be good for me. It's just that my metabolism changed when I was suddenly eating carbs again.

Post Edited (dcd2103) : 5/28/2021 7:58:03 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 5/28/2021 10:37 AM (GMT -5)
yep - mine went up

i believe it was also a little higher than ideal to begin with but since both lyme and bart damage the cells that line blood vessels and one of cholesterol's many functions is to patch that damage while the cells underneath are replaced - its expected to have higher than ideal cholesterol levels while this kind of process is going on

LPS in the blood stream does similar things i believe

for sure other causes of inflammation also add to the damage to blood vessels - high sugar, processed carbs, industrial fats, smoking etc have all been linked so that's clear enough

what was new is the study explains a mechanism for why cholesterol would rise even with the highest quality saturated fat sources - which was interesting - and it also gave some insight to help interpret conflicting test results
Posted 5/28/2021 11:37 PM (GMT -5)
If you guys aren't familiar with Dave Feldman, he may be of interest, regarding his work around cholesterol:

https://www.dietdoctor.com/authors/dave-feldman
https://www.youtube.com/c/davefeldmantv

He's also on a variety of podcasts, if that medium is of interest. Check iTunes, Stitcher, and other podcast platforms.
Posted 5/30/2021 4:15 AM (GMT -5)
Try to think about your diet as a modification to your microbiome. What you eat directly affects what bacteria/pathogens you have in your GI tract. Eating one way shifts your percentages of species in one direction and eating another moves them the other way. It is difficult to move completely in one direction as there are metabolic constraints. Some constraints are nutrients, chemical byproducts, and byproduct pH.

Our body is always adapting to whatever we throw at it and it adapts to our diet as well. E coli and Candida albicans are supposed to be beneficial in our body. For many of us, they have become problematic because their concentrations are too high. They are too high for a reason and that reason is because they are trying to help. They are trying to help clean up the mess that we are in.
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